


From the Tower Walls

by urka



Category: Tangled (2010)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Not Beta Read, ill add more tags as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 19:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21481828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urka/pseuds/urka
Summary: “Don’t go back to the tower. Look, I--I know it hasn’t been that long, and you already said you were gonna go back after this, but...” He leans forward, reaching for her hands. “You’ve been locked in that tower for eighteen years, and you’ve been out for what, two days? Blondie, there is so much more out there in this world, things you deserve to see and I--I want to show them to you.”--Instead of being taken back to the tower by Gothel, Rapunzel chooses to stay with Eugene.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 6
Kudos: 59





	From the Tower Walls

**Author's Note:**

> ever since i rewatched the movie a while back ive been thinking about an au where rapunzel and eugene dont go to the castle and instead become thieves together and after rewatching season 2 i got INSPIRED so here we are
> 
> basically canon happens up until the lantern scene where the fic starts

Rapunzel’s first kiss is everything she’d ever dreamed it would be and more.

All those years locked in the tower, she’d only had one romance novel to choose from--and the countless times she’d reread it couldn’t have prepared her for the actual thing.

Eugene’s lips against her own are soft and warm, and the kiss itself is slow, hesitant, like both of them are afraid to take it too far, to cross some secret line and ruin the whole thing. She relishes the gentle touch of his hand on her cheek, and her heart flutters as the touch grows a little more insistent, tilting her head up so that their mouths slide a little closer together. For a brief moment, with the night sky lit up with a hundred glittering lanterns and their boat gently swaying in the waves, it’s hard for her to imagine ever being anywhere but here, outside of her tower and experiencing the world for what it really is.

And then the moment is over, and Eugene pulls away, looking about as star-struck as she feels. She doesn’t know what to say, but she thinks that’s okay, if only because Eugene also doesn’t seem to know what to say--they end up staring into each others eyes quietly, and Rapunzel belatedly realizes Eugene’s hand is still cupping her cheek when he rubs his thumb against her cheekbone.

She grins, wide, emotions she’s never felt before winding up inside of her and releasing like a spring, and though she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do, she knows she _wants _to pull Eugene close to her again and not let go for the rest of the night.

And then, like he can tell she wants more, he starts to close the distance between them again, and she gladly follows his lead, letting her eyes slide shut--

But the next kiss doesn’t come. She leans back in confusion, eyelids snapping open to find Eugene looking distractedly over her shoulder, somewhere she can’t see. When she turns to look, all she sees is the shore, and she starts to frown. “Is... something wrong?” She asks, turning back around as Eugene’s hand falls from her face.

He blinks. “What?” Then he abruptly straightens, rushing over his words. “No! No, um--“ His eyes flick down to the satchel, and he stares for an uncomfortable pause until he finally says, “We should, uh, be getting back. It’s--wow, it’s getting chilly out here, isn’t it? Don’t wanna catch a cold!” He wears a far too wide grin while he says it, and Rapunzel laughs somewhat nervously in reply, pushing her hair back.

“No, we wouldn’t,” she offers, resisting the want to check the shore one more time, just in case she saw whatever it was that had set him off. Doubts sowed by her mother seep into her thoughts, and she forcefully shoves them away, not wanting to believe them.

He clears his throat awkwardly and reaches back for the oar, and she looks back up at the last few lanterns in the sky.

Silence closes in around them as Eugene starts rowing them back towards the harbor, and Rapunzel gnaws quietly on her lip. She tries not to think about what comes next--she can’t help but wish that this day could last forever, that she could stay and dance in the town square and spend hours reading countless new books, feeling that new rush of adrenaline every time Eugene would dip her into a shadow or a corner to avoid the Corona guards. She thinks about what Eugene said earlier--_Well, that’s the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream_.

She sneaks a glance up at Eugene out of the corner of her eye, and takes a moment to really _think _about everything that’s happened. At first, she’d only planned on leaving for long enough to see the lanterns--to get in and out of Corona before Mother returned from getting her paints. But the longer she was out of the tower, the less she wanted to go back, though she hadn’t allowed herself to admit it. But she _knows_ Mother loves her, and she loves her mother, and she shouldn't want to leave the tower or ever dream of leaving it behind, but... She starts playing with the folds of her dress, squeezing the fabric between her fingers. Somehow, Mother had found out she'd left the tower and followed her--what if she was still watching? What if that was what Eugene had seen? She frowns. Could she ever truly leave her mother, even if she wanted to, or would she just find her wherever she went and try to bring her back home?

A voice snaps her out of her thoughts. “You okay, Blondie?” She flicks her gaze up to look at Eugene, and she notices he’s stopped rowing. Her cheeks warm up and she wonders when he stopped, and how she didn’t notice sooner.

“Oh, um... yeah!” She says, forcing a smile that she hopes doesn’t look as fake as it feels. “Yes, I’m fine. Just, ah... lost in thought, I guess.” She pushes the smile a little harder.

Eugene stares at her for a moment, scratching at the end of the oar with his nail. “Rapunzel...” he starts, and her shoulders tense as she waits for what’s coming next. He hesitates, but she knows what he’s going to say, because it’s been hanging over her for the entire day, and now the silence has laid it out in front of them, forced them to face it. “Don’t go back to the tower. Look, I--I know it hasn’t been that long, and you already said you were gonna go back after this, but...” He leans forward, reaching for her hands. “You’ve been locked in that tower for eighteen _years, _and you’ve been out for what, two days? Blondie, there is so much more out there in this world, things you deserve to see and I--I want to show them to you.”

Rapunzel smiles faintly at Eugene, and though this time it’s real, it doesn’t feel good. “Eugene, I... I don’t know. I want that, I really do, but I just...” she trails off, her shoulders sagging.

She feels his hands grip her own tighter, and she stares down quietly into her lap. “If you want to, then why can’t you?” He presses, and she squeezes her eyes shut, shaking her head slowly.

“Mother... I can’t just _leave _her. Not after all these years, not when she... not when she needs...” She sighs exasperatedly, wanting to drag her hand through her hair.

“Rapunzel, everyone leaves their parents at some point. It’s normal,” he insists, and she thinks he means it this time, unlike at the beginning of their adventure together.

“It’s just--it’s complicated,” she says, the same excuse she gave at the campfire.

She looks back up at Eugene, and she doesn’t think he’s going to let it slide this time.

“Do you want to go back to the tower?” He asks, and she knows he already knows the answer. So she’s honest.

“No.”

He rubs his thumbs over her knuckles and says, “Then don’t go back. Your life is your own to live, and you get to choose what you want to do with it. If you don’t want to go back to the tower, then you don’t have to.”

“Eugene,” she starts, sighing as she says it, and drops her gaze back into her lap. She hears a quiet trill and a spot of green fills her vision as Pascal situates himself in her lap, looking up at her with wide eyes as he presses close to her in a show of comfort. She thinks about her life in the tower, and how miserable she was--how she tried to hide it, bury it under paints and cookies and singing. For once, she lets herself truly admit to herself that she’s been unhappy for so long, and that the past two days have easily been two of the best days of her life.

"Please, Rapunzel," he pleads, and her heart all but shatters when she sees how concerned, _desperate, _he looks for her not to go.

She’s already told Mother no once, she realizes suddenly, and just like that, she has the confidence to give her answer.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” he repeats, eyes widening a fraction as it dawns on him what she’s said.

She nods, and Pascal squeaks up at her excitedly. “I want to stay here, with you. Mother... Mother was wrong about the world... about me,” she says, and admitting it makes her stomach swirl with both anxiety and relief, all at once. Mother had told her the world was full of horrible, awful things, but even the scariest thugs she’d seen turned out to all just be people with dreams, like her. And then she’d said that Eugene could never like her, that he only wanted the crown--and in just a few minutes, he had proved her wrong on both counts.

She grins lopsidedly. “And, like you said... I’ve gotta find my new dream, right?”

He’s quiet for a second, and then he breaks into a grin that makes her heart flip in her chest, and she feels like she’s opened a door to a new, wonderful chapter of her life outside of the tower. Like her life has finally begun. “Guess we both have a little searching to do, then,” he says, and they cling to each other’s hands as the boat spins in slow, sappy circles with no one to guide it. By now, the lanterns have all burned out, and so they sit with only the dull glimmer of the boat lamp and the stars illuminating them, the promise of tomorrow fanning out all around them like the horizon.

Finally, Eugene lets go of her hands to grab the oar again. He rows them the rest of the way to the dock and jumps out of the boat, tying both ends down to the dock before reaching down to help Rapunzel out--she gives a quick ‘thank you’ as she steps out of the boat, hand lingering in Eugene’s a moment longer than necessary.

She pauses after pulling away her hand, Eugene raising a brow at her as she stares at him for one second, two, before she practically tosses herself at him, squeezing her arms around him in a tight hug.

“Woah, woah, hey! Careful with the merchandise, Blondie,” he whines, squirming a little before giving in to the unexpected hug, arms pinned down to his sides.

She lets out a short laugh and apologizes, “Sorry, sorry, I just--I realized I hadn’t said thank you, yet.”

“Thank you?” he echoes.

“Yeah, for--for taking me to see the lights. For everything. It’s... it’s been so _wonderful_, and today was the best day of my whole life. So I just...” she sighs wistfully. “Thank you.”

“Well, who am I to deprive the birthday girl of the best day of her life, hmm?” He peels her arms off of him, and Rapunzel tucks a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear. “Tell you what, I know a great inn nearby the harbor with a fantastic view of the sunrise. And they’ve even got fresh bread and butter for breakfast! How’s that sound, Blondie?”

She rocks back on her heels and hums, “Sounds perfect.”

The sound of hooves clacking against cobblestone draws her attention down the harbor, where Maximus trots towards them, ears perked high. She runs over to greet him, pulling Maximus’s head close to her and resting her forehead against his own as the horse whickers. “Oh, thank you, Max. This was... the best birthday ever.” She pulls away, holding both sides of his face in her hands, and plants a delicate kiss on his nose.

Max sighs, and Eugene’s voice pipes up from behind her. “Alright, I’ve got the satchel, you got the frog?” He asks, and Pascal responds for her by crawling atop her head to wave his hand with a little squeak. Rapunzel pats Max’s nose one more time before turning to step into place next to Eugene, who’s focused on settling the satchel right over his shoulders. Before they even get a chance to leave, Eugene lets out a sudden squawk and stumbles backwards, yanked by the strap of his satchel. “Wha--“ Rapunzel turns to find Max with the satchel pinned between his teeth, and she grabs onto Eugene's arm to help him pull. “Hey, those twenty four hours aren’t up yet!” Eugene accuses, twisting to try and pull the bag back. The horse shakes the satchel, snorting at him. “Give--me--it--!”

“Maximus, what--“ Rapunzel starts, but she stops when, with another tug, the satchel is ripped from Eugene’s hands, who falls backwards onto the ground with a grunt. She stumbles, and locks eyes with Max. "What are you doing?" She finishes as Eugene stands back up again, glowering at Max from behind her. She reaches out to grab the satchel back from Max's mouth and he lets her, watching as she turns it over in her hands so that she can open it. It only takes a moment before she realizes what has Max so worked up, and she pulls out the offending object.

“Oh,” she says, looking at the glimmer of moonlight reflected in the crown’s jewels. “Is this what you want?”

Maximus snorts and stamps a hoof, nudging her hand.

“Wha--“ Eugene protests, “Wait wait wait, no, the crown? You still want that thing?” He scoffs, tossing his hands up into the air. “I can’t _believe_ after everything we’ve been through together and all those apples that I bought and definitely did not steal for you that you’re still only after the crown and not the dashing, devilish rogue who--“

“Eugene,” Rapunzel interrupts, lifting a brow at him, “I thought you said you didn’t need it?”

He raises his hands in defense and makes a noise somewhere between a huff and a whine. “Well, _yeah, _but--you know! The--the boat, and the lanterns, it was all very romantic and I was not thinking in a long-term scenario! We can still use that thing, Blondie,” he tries to reason. She doesn’t comment on the ‘we’ part of that, or the way it excites her.

She pats his arm in a pitiful way. “I think we should return it.”

Eugene pouts at her. “Hey, I worked very hard to steal that, I’ll have you know. I risked my life to get that thing! It’s important to me that you know that, Blondie. You do know that, right? Because--“ Rapunzel turns her attention back to the crown, which goes unnoticed by Eugene--who yammers on--and runs her thumb over it. This was the lost Princess’s crown, stolen the day before the anniversary of her disappearance--she can only imagine the way the King and Queen must be feeling losing something so precious on a day like this one. Pascal hops down to her shoulder and clicks at her, and she gives him a quick scratch under the chin. She wonders how she might feel if Pascal suddenly went missing for so long, and glances back at Eugene.

She nudges him with her elbow and says, “This is the lost Princess’s crown. This might be one of the only things left to remember her by. We should return it.” She locks eyes with him, watches as his face scrunches up and his eyebrows furrow together in defiance, and then watches as the whole thing melts as he sags his shoulders and sighs heavily.

“Fine, fine, you win, Blondie.”

The pout comes back as she smiles warmly and drifts away from Eugene, walking up to Maximus to give him the crown. “Oh! Oh, wait, do you have any paper in here? I’ll write a note so they know we’re sorry!” She doesn’t give Eugene time to say anything before she’s opening up the satchel again and rummaging around for something to use, hearing his exasperated _sorry? _from behind her as she pulls out a thin stub of charcoal and the wanted poster still stuffed in the bottom of the bag. “Here we go,” she says, setting the poster against Maximus’s saddle so she’d have something hard to write on. Eugene steps up behind her to watch as she begins writing, but she says the words out loud anyway as she writes them. “Dear King and Queen of Corona, here’s your crown back.”

“Blondie, do you really have to write a note?”

She shoots him a coy look. “What, worried about your fake reputation?”

He grumbles and leans against her shoulder, glaring down at the note. Maximus whinnies and she feels Eugene let out an indignant huff of air next to her ear.

She goes back to writing. “We’re very sorry for stealing it.”

“Still not that sorry.”

“It was wrong, and you need it more than we do.”

“They could make another one just like it in, like, a day.”

“Also, Maximus is a very good horse.”

“What?!”

“Make sure to give him all the apples he wants!” Rapunzel turns to look at Eugene and asks, “Should we sign it?”

“No!” Eugene exclaims, leaning back sharply. “No, we should not sign it, in fact, I dont think we should send any kind of note or letter or memo, because they’ll get the picture when the crown suddenly turns up at their doorstep.” He points at the note. “Also, that’s literally my wanted poster, Blondie. It’s already got my name on it.”

She frowns. “Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right.” She taps the charcoal against the note, and after taking a moment to admire it, she rolls it up to stick it in the bag attached to Maximus’s saddle along with the crown, checking to make sure both are secure before dropping the charcoal back in the satchel and handing it to Eugene.

Maximus turns as soon as she’s done and leans his head down so he’s eye-level with her, letting out a low, mournful sigh. Rapunzel clicks her tongue and hugs Max, patting his neck comfortingly and cooing, “Hey, it’s okay.” She leans back. “I’ll miss you too, Max.”

He nudges her with his nose one more time before backing up, turning, and trotting off, disappearing around a corner to take the crown back to the castle. She sighs, tucking her hair behind her ear. She really will miss him, and even if Eugene refuses to admit what a sweet horse he is, she knows that today wouldn't have happened if Max didn't agree to leave Eugene alone for the day.

Eugene steps forward to fill the empty space at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him with a soft, warm smile that he returns with ease. “Well, now that that’s taken care of, how about we get to that inn before the innkeeper goes to bed for the night?”

Rapunzel nods, leaning into the touch with a small yawn.

His hand slides down her arm until she clasps onto it with her own, and together they walk down to the inn, dreams of what tomorrow will hold whirling around in Rapunzel’s head, the promise of a new life right at her fingertips.

**Author's Note:**

> bro please if yall have a good tangled discord hit me up i need somewhere to talk about this


End file.
